A Personal Message from President Dudley

Dear W&L Community, 

On Friday evening, I wrote to students, faculty, 还有员工们，我们已经暂停了校内课程，并将休息两周，然后在今年剩下的时间里转向虚拟教学.

今天，我想与大家分享我在这非凡的一周中所观察到的情况, 以及它对太阳城集团和李社区的揭露.

很难估量在短短的几天里发生了多大的变化. On Sunday, 我目睹了女子长曲棍球队战胜了全国劲旅葛底斯堡队，跃居全国第四.  We had no idea it would be their final contest of the year.  On Monday, 大学教师在每月例会上进行日常事务，并考虑了一些春季海外学期课程可能需要取消的可能性.  Because there are no known cases of COVID-19 at W&L or in the surrounding area, and February break was behind us, we had every hope of completing the school year on campus.  The weather was deceptively beautiful, 吸引了成群的学生一起在太阳城集团大厅我窗外的草坪上晒太阳. 

But at the same time, 每天都有消息称，全国乃至全球人民的正常生活受到了额外的干扰.  On Wednesday, 世界卫生组织宣布COVID-19为大流行，并敦促个人和机构采取措施减缓其传播.  周四，美国总统宣布禁止来自欧洲的航班.  周五，弗吉尼亚州州长下令关闭联邦各地的K-12学校.  NCAA和职业体育联盟暂停了比赛.  公共卫生当局日益紧急地警告非必要的旅行和大量聚集.

Here at W&首先，我们也不得不面对这种前所未有的局面.  I met daily with our leadership in academic affairs, student affairs, health and counseling, business operations, and communications.  Together, we assessed and reassessed the latest information and guidance, which changed as rapidly as decisions could be made.  太阳城集团大学和李学院的每个人都尽了最大的努力来维护我们校园和社区的最大利益, for which I am very grateful.

I also heard from many of you.  You wrote to share your thoughts, hopes, and fears.  This crisis is not abstract.  It is personal for all of us.  I have two children in college.  我的父母住在弗吉尼亚州的一个退休社区，为了保护脆弱的居民，该社区不得不禁止访客.  没有什么比我们和我们所爱的人的安全更重要.  Some of you were pleased that W&L made every effort to continue holding classes on campus, 只要这符合公共卫生当局的指导.  Some of you urged us to send students home.

你们的观点各不相同，但几乎无一例外，你们的信息都是深思熟虑和建设性的.  You wanted me to know how you felt, and your feelings were strong, but you were sincere, respectful, and understanding.  你们中的许多人，以书面或亲自的方式，表达了你们的支持和感谢.  我一次又一次地被你的同情、善良和慷慨所打动.  Thank you.

本周，太阳城集团和李社区向我展示了一种普遍存在的现象, persistent, and even cheerful resolve.  Everyone understands that we are navigating a fluid situation, the contours of which are shifting and unpredictable.  And everyone is willing to adapt, however we must, 减少对公共健康的威胁，同时尽我们所能教育我们的学生.  学生、教师和工作人员表现出了极大的灵活性、创造力和决心.  All across campus, people have taken initiative, learned to do things in new ways, worked longer hours, remained focused on what is most important, and done it all without complaint.  Thank you.

Universities have rhythms that are centuries old.  它们深植于我们的骨子里，它们的破坏是令人震惊和痛苦的.  每天早上，当我步行去上班的时候，我看到学生和教师络绎不绝地穿过柱廊去上课.  Afternoons and evenings, I see our teams and ensembles play and perform, and attend academic events hosted by our faculty.  尤其是春天，充满了对W的每个人来说都很珍贵的年度传统&L.  这也是被录取的学生参观校园和校友团聚的日子.  现在很清楚，这些事件都不会按计划发生.  我们仍然希望为本科生和法律系学生举行预定的毕业典礼, 但我们必须为这些计划可能需要改变的可能性做好准备.

对于我们所失去的一切，我们的集体失望怎么说都不为过. 但我们知道，与全球卫生危机的潜在后果相比，这些损失微不足道, 我们的社区以尊严和优雅处理了它的失望. 

My heart aches for every one of our students, and most especially for our graduating seniors, whose time together has been cut short, and whose events, performances, competitions, and trips have been canceled.  我知道这些对你有多重要，我也知道它们是无法取代的.  I will miss them dearly myself.  Seeing the joy you take in each other’s company, and watching you all shine in so many ways, is the best part of my job. 

In June, a campus without students is peaceful.  In March, it is eerie and sad.  Work here will continue, 尽管由于需要减少人与人之间的互动，其中很大一部分将会发生变化.  教授们正在学习新技术，重新设计他们的课程.  教学技术人员提供工具、培训和支持.  招生办正准备为被录取的学生举办虚拟参观活动，并将招收2024届优秀的学生.  设施使Duchossois体育中心建设项目按计划于今年秋天开放.  Everyone at W&在接下来的几个月里，我将会忙碌而富有成效，但一切都将不同.

本周我得到的最重要的教训是，我们是多么幸运，因为我们拥有太阳城集团的一切.  我们在这个校园里共同生活的丰富多彩是宝贵的，从来没有被认为是理所当然的.  I will miss it terribly, as will each of you.  Our community has made me proud this week.  I will be so eager to welcome our students back, when circumstances permit, to resume normal life at W&L. 

Until then, I wish the best of health and safety to all.

Will Dudley
March 15, 2020